Automating Twitter; Rising Stars Stuck On Horizon

Twitter’s new API program opens a new front in the ”fight between humans and algorithms,” Mathew Ingram writes in a long riff on PaidContent. “In a nutshell, the API is a way for companies to automate more of their ad spending. At the moment, the list of official partners isn’t that long, but it will presumably grow — and the API combined with Twitter’s self-serve ad platform will theoretically allow advertisers to promote tweets based on what is trending and where the activity is.” Next up: cookie matching? More.

Rising Stars Stuck On Horizon

The high-impact Rising Stars ad formats trumpeted last year by the Interactive Advertising Bureau still suffer from an awareness hurdle, Undertone finds in a survey. “Under a third (31%) of marketers have heard of the Rising Stars, compared to over two thirds (69%) of agencies.” Meanwhile cost and production hurdles are still a barrier to publisher adoption. On the bright side, among buyers who know of the ads, 73% are “very or somewhat likely” to buy them this year. DSPs and trading desks are still not big users of the formats -- which include Billboard, Portrait, Pushdown, Filmstrip, Sidekick and Slider. Press release.

First Party First

First party data platform Adara has scrounged up $20 milllion round led by QuestMark Ventures, which specializes in expansion stage funding. The company uses transactional and loyalty program data to execute display media programs on behalf of clients in travel, retail and financial services. Press release. And, read this 2011 AdExchanger interview with CEO Layton Han for more background.

AdRoll’s FBX Take

Data from retargeting specialist AdRoll, based on 468 recent campaigns that ran simultaneously on Facebook Exchange and the web, suggests that it’s not a happy participant the two are incremental. Blog post. AdRoll was an early FBX partner and has run campaigns there for north of 700 advertisers. Among its findings: FBX gave lower CPMs and CPCs. However click-through rates were 40.2% lower on Facebook than on the general web, and Facebook Exchange ads also had an 86% higher cost per unique. “There were some things that we expected, like the lower CPM and CPC on FBX, but other things were surprising,” said President Adam Berke in an interview with Techcrunch’s Anthony Ha. Read it. [Blurb has been updated. -ed]

RTB Hot Buttons

Gus Spathis, search retargeter Magnetic’s CTO, lays out some of the burning issues that industry executives have been debating across the conference circuit. Writing in Mediapost, he points to debate over the value of “place” or “content and context” within RTB. “If you are reaching the right audience at an optimal time, does inventory matter? Does media placement make much of a difference in RTB -- or is it just the data?” Read the rest.

Where Accrediting Is Due...

With companies like Integral Ad Science (formerly AdSafe) having moved from after-the-fact ad “verification” to “predictive analysis,” established companies in the verification business need to do more to prove their value. DoubleVerify reports that it has received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its suite of Verification and Viewability products, the latter being a hot topic for marketers these days. “Achieving MRC accreditation confirms that the innovative solutions that DoubleVerify has pioneered over the years to drive online media transparency and accountability are proven effective,” said Wayne Gattinella, CEO and President of DoubleVerify, in a release. Read it.

Private Co. Earnings

Attitudinal targeter Resonate Networks, which has made “hay” ($$$) with its targeting capabilities on behalf of political candidates, announced that it is seeing bigger and better revenues year-over-year. In the release, the revenue mix is described the thusly: “New business: Brand business outpaced the politics and advocacy business (116 percent to 107 percent).” Read it all. The company raised $22 million a year ago (All Things D, 2012).